Figure It Out
by Tina Redwood
Summary: Draco Malfoy thinks it'll be funny to play around with Hermione Granger. Plenty of other pairings!
1. The Room of Requirement

"Name three girls you would _never_ date," offered Blaise.

Draco groaned. "There are too many!" Crabbe and Goyle snickered. Blaise let out a laugh.

"Fine, then. Just pick the three you'd rather be seen dead than dating."

He pondered this. "Narietta Jones," he said after a while. The boys burst out laughing.

"She must be like...five hundred pounds," Blaise laughed, hardly breathing.

"A Mudblood, too," added Draco, "along with like fifty zits on her forehead."

"Okay, next?" said Blaise. Draco scratched his chin.

"Hm..." he said, "Ginny Weasley."

"She's hot, though," said Blaise, "but a blood traitor."

"My point exactly," droned Draco, "besides, I don't think she's that hot."

"Fine, next?"

Draco thought. "Hermione Granger."

There was general agreement.

"Mudblood, friend of Potter and Weasel," Draco concluded.

"But...how about her looks?" asked Blaise mischievously, winking at his friend.

He shrugged. "She may be okay outward, but it's what's inside that counts," said Draco, pointing at his heart, "the blood that gets pumped from right here."

Crabbe and Goyle laughed, but Blaise was unconvinced.

"So you do think she's...pretty?"

"No," said Draco coldly, "I've seen better."

"You have to admit, though, that she's better-looking than Parkinson," grinned Blaise.

"You sound like you fancy the mudblood!" cried Draco, laughing.

Blaise shook his head. "No way," he said, "just because I think someone is hot it doesn't mean I like her."

"Alright, then," said Draco, "so I do guess Granger is better-looking than Pansy..."

"DRACO MALFOY!"

He turned. Pansy was standing at the doorway, fuming, "what did you just say?"

Draco rolled his eyes in silence. He wasn't really into the whole dramatic, emotional bull-crap.

"You think...you think that _mudblood_ is prettier than me?" she cried, stomping her feet. Blaise smiled apologetically at Draco. She went on wailing and demandng an answer, and Draco was extremely annoyed by it all.

"Shut it, Parkinson," he droned, "if anything, it wasn't a lie." Goyle let out a small laughter despite himself, and Pansy sent a hex at him, knocking him backwards.

"So you fancy the mudblood bitch?" demanded Pansy, crossing her arms.

"He didn't say that, Parkinson," said Blaise.

"Nope, that I did not. I actually mentioned her as one of the three people I would never date," said Draco. He had really gone out of his way to explain this all to Parkinson, as he simply did not _care_, but he was willing to put together that long sentence to get her to just _shut up_.

"But you think she's _pretty_?" cried Pansy.

Draco stared at Blaise and his other friends for a while and smirked a little. "I guess a Malfoy never backs up on his word."

"First time I've heard _that_," snickered Blaise, as Draco _did_ back up on a lot of things.

"Draco!" sobbed Pansy, "how could you? We're over!"

Draco rolled his eyes and leaned back. "Okay."

"Alright, fine, I'll-" her eyes widened at the realization; she had meant for him to beg for her mercy. "What?"

"You heard me," droned Draco, "I said okay. We're over."

"Wait, Draco-"

"Go away now." He gave a long yawn while Blaise stared at him and Pansy with amused interest.

"Draco, I was just kidding-"

"Well, I wasn't," said Draco simply. "Now get the hell out of here before Crabbe and Goyle hex you."

And so that was the end of the current relationship. And Draco Malfoy did not remain single very long.

* * *

A beam of bright sunlight shone through the window, and Hermione Granger fluttered her eyes open. She had a horrible headache and her stomach was sore as she hoisted herself up, yawning silently. She sleepily looked around her and realized that she did not recognize the room.

It looked pretty simplistic to her: a plain wooden door, a plain window with white curtains, and basically no other furniture. Except, of course, the bed she was sitting on. Plain...white...rather large...and...

Hermione threw her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.

His back was turned from her, but his pale blond hair and lightly muscular body was unmistakably those of Draco Malfoy...no question about that. And it was then that she realized, for the first time, that she was stark naked.

In a tiny shocked gasp she pulled the covers over her, accidentally causing the fabric to brush softly over _his_ flawless skin as well. She froze, holding her breath. He did not stir. She sighed in relief as quietly as she could, quickly calculating which was the better choice- to beat him up till he's awake or to silently sneak out.

How did this happen, anyway? she pondered in horror. She strained to remember how she got to this room, but her horrid headache was keeping her from thinking clearly. And the shock wasn't helping, either. Making as little noise as possibly, Hermione slid out of the covers and set her bare feet on the carpeted floor.

Her clothes were torn up and scattered all across the room.

A mixture of fury and frustration swelled up inside her, and she felt like bursting into angry tears. She swallowed them, however, as she decided that the best thing to do is sneak out of the room as quiet as a mouse. Hermione began to pick up her torn undergarments, and, in doing so, found _his_ clothes, including underwear, were on the floor as well. Her face turned scarlet as she realized that he was nude as she was. The white sheets covered his body waist-down, but this did not keep her from blushing madly. Shaking her head of such thoughts, she quickly and silently dressed herself as best as she could.

_Maybe it's not him_, she told herself once she was adequately covered. Of course, she'd be horrified to find herself with _any_ guy, but Malfoy was the worst case scenario. But it never hurt to _check_...she tiptoed to his side of the bed.

She was not mistaken.

His face was almost angelic, she noticed in surprise. His pale skin seemed to be shining, emitting its own glow. She was almost shocked to find herself marveling at his delicate features.

Hermione shook her head. She was wasting her time- she had lots to think about and to, most importantly, remember once she got out of this room. She tiptoed back and headed for the door. Her fingers touched the knob.

"Good morning, Granger."

She froze on the spot.

* * *

**A/N: Surprise, surprise! (: Yep, Tina's back! **

**Now, a couple of things: I'm sorry, but I will not be writing the Ron smut fic. It just turned into a blob of erotica rather than a story with a plot, and it doesn't even have the charm (?) of Girls Say the Darnest Things. Well, so...I decided to treat you guys to a BRAND NEW DRAMIONE! I hope you guys like this one. It's going to be hard, but I will try to update at least once every two weeks. And as always, all comments/reviews/suggestions are always welcome! **

**And, one more thing: I'll also be writing a different fic later on using an OC character I found off of Twitter (yeah, Twitter!). His user name is Sid_Henrie, a reckless player in the Albus Severus/Rose Weasley/ Scorpius Malfoy era. I haven't decided which timeline, but again, all suggestions are welcome; maybe you guys can follow him (I don't use Twitter, just keep track of his page) and give me some pointers? **

**And...to make up for the deserting of the Ron fic..you guys **_**may**_** be seeing a story about one of your favorite OC characters...can you guess who that might be? Her nickname's "initials" would be H.W… :)**

**Love, **

**Tina**


	2. Some Type of Research Project

"Why hurry out? It's Saturday," his velvety voice droned, and she could almost _taste_ his mocking tone.

She gripped the handle tightly with her hand.

He laughed softly behind her. "You don't remember anything, do you?" he asked, but it wasn't a quesiton. She began to turn the knob silently, gritting her teeth.

"I could explain everything in detail," he smirked, "but then again, it would be a lot more fun for _you_ to try and figure it out."

She could have said something biting back, but..._what_ could she say? She turned the knob and opened the door, suddenly realizing that they were in the Room of Requirement. Whoever required this room needed nothing else but a _bed_, she thought miserably as she quickly walked out, ignoring Malfoy's malicious chuckles.

* * *

She stood, her back against the door of the Room of Requirement, her face red and breath uncontrollable. She managed to force a simple smile as a girl she knew passed by, but her heart was thumping like mad and she felt a bit nauseous. She fumbled for her wand and quickly fixed up her torn clothes.

"Hermione?"

She sharply turned at the familiar voice; it was Harry, in his unmistakable jet-black hair and glasses.

"Where were you? We were looking for you everywhere."

"Um..." She was at loss of what to say. Her eyes nervously followed Harry's curious gaze until she realized she was leaning against the door of the Room of Requirement.

He cocked his head. "You were in there?"

"Er..."

She quickly said a prayer to God, or whoever was up there, that Draco Malfoy does not suddenly decide to come out that door, too.

"Ah," Harry suddenly said, as if realizing something for the first time. He grinned mischievously and lowered his voice to a whisper. "After the party? Thought that was your room?"

A look of pure horror dawned upon Hermione's face. "The party. I remember that."

And she did: there had been a party, just for the seventh years. Kind of welcome-back-to-school kind of a party, and a secret one somewhere beneath the castle grounds that Fred and George Weasley had somehow figured out. There had been drinks, passed out even to those who were not yet seventeen. And she did remember drinking, at the urge of some of the classmates. And...not much else.

"I didn't think you'd drink," said Harry, chuckling. "But you sure did! Ron passed out, too, and by the time I was done helping him off the floor, you were gone!"

"I was?" she said in whisper.

Harry arched his brow. "You really don't remember, do you?"

"Nope."

"Well, let's see how well you managed to recreate your room," said Harry gleefully, reaching for the doorknob behind her.

"Wait, no-"

Harry never got to open that door. It opened from the inside, by the shirtless Draco Malfoy himself. He was in his jeans, but had not bothered to put on a shirt, which he held in his hand. Harry fell back in a shocked gasp, and Hermione let out a small cry of distress. Malfoy rolled his eyes a bit and smirked at Harry.

What are you doing here, Potter?" he droned.

"The same I'd like to ask you, Malfoy," growled Harry, instinctively taking out his wand. He shot a side glance at Hermione, asking her what was going on, but she was staring at her shoes with tearful eyes.

"As much as I'd like to _elaborate_, I'm not sure if the mudblood here would want me to," Malfoy replied with a smirk, not even flinching as Harry's wand shot up to his eye level at the word 'mudblood'. "But of course, when did I care what _she_ cared for?"

"Watch your mouth, ferret," growled Harry.

"I would watch yours," said Malfoy coldly. "Or, better, watch where your filthy mudblood friend decides to throw her drunken body at."

* * *

Then, it all happened too quickly. Instead of hexing Malfoy as he intended, Harry threw a jab with his other hand right at the Slytherin's face, who fell to the floor back into the room.

Hermione was inconsolable. Her whole body was shaking at Malfoy's malicious words, and she felt sick.

Draco Malfoy grabbed his aching jaw and looked up at the two, looking pissed-off but not completely humiliated. "You will pay for this."

"Oh, will I?" Harry shouted sarcastically. "And leave Hermione alone, you bastard." And he grabbed her by her wrist and practically dragged her off to the Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

Neither said a word until they arrived. Harry angrily muttered the password to the fat lady, who seemed annoyed to be awaken from her nap. Only after they were safely inside Harry let go of Hermione's wrist. She sat down on one of the sofas, exhausted both physically and emotionally.

He looked as if he was waiting for her to explain something, but there was a long silence. Then it seemed to finally dawn on him that girls probably didn't like matters like this being blown up or talked about, especially by a male friend. He sat down. "It's your own decision if you want to tell Dumbledore, or go hex him, tell the authorities-"

"-Harry, it's just that...I have this _gut_ feeling that I wasn't really...that nothing happened last night."

Harry stared at her skeptically.

Hermione sighed, her face red. "I know, Harry. Let's just...let me figure out what happened first. Please? Don't tell anyone?"

"...fine," said Harry reluctantly.

"Not Ron, not Ginny?"

"I said fine." He sounded a bit grumpy. "But if you don't _figure out_ what happened soon enough, I'm going and telling Dumbledore what that, that _ferret_, did to you. And you," he pointed his finger at his friend, "you stay away from Malfoy."

"I do have to figure out what happened," said Hermione patiently.

"This is not some type of research project, Hermione!" cried Harry, exasperated.

Hermione rubbed her temples. It was just that she didn't _feel_ anything. Of course, the memory bit could have been easily modified, but then again why would have Malfoy modified her memory if she was to wake up next to him? Something told her nothing had happened, that this was just another one of his nasty pranks. But then...why would he pull such a prank? Wouldn't it have been a better laugh for him if she had woken up next to Crabbe or Goyle? Somehow, that made her even shudder more. At least Malfoy was kind of good looking. He really had looked gorgeous that morning, sleeping on that white bed...

* * *

Draco casually made his way back to the Slytherin dungeons. He wondered how Blaise was doing. It had been a rather...extreme measure to make Granger think she slept with him (she better feel honored), but it got the job done; he knew she would be flushed whenever she saw him, and he could easily play with those feelings like a hand of cards. And also, it had the effect of angering Potter, and possibly even Weasel. He wondered why he hadn't done this before. As he strolled, the conversation of two nights ago played in his head, and he smiled a wicked grin...

* * *

Pansy stormed off. Blaise stared at his friend with an amused smile.

"That was rather nicely done, Draco."

"Thank you," droned Draco lazily. "She was getting rather boring, really."

Blaise nodded approvingly. "All Slytherin girls have been rather boring lately. Not..._difficult_, at all."

"No girl is difficult," said Draco matter-of-factly.

Crabbe and Goyle stared at Draco admiringly. Clearly _they_ didn't think so. And, surprisingly enough, Blaise was not really convinced.

"_Some _girls would be difficult. Just because some girls would throw themselves at your feet, it doesn't mean all girls will."

Draco sighed and clicked his tongue. "No girl is difficult," he repeated.

Blaise's eyes flashed with a mischief which Draco did not miss.

"What are you thinking, Zabini?"

Blaise leaned back. "Nothing, really. I just don't think you can win over _any_ girl."

"I could if I tried," said Draco.

"No, you couldn't."

Draco arched a brow.

"As much as you would hate to date, say, Ginny Weasley, _she_ would never want to date you," Blaise explained.

"I already told you. If I wanted the filthy Weaslette, I could have her."

Blaise was not to be convinced just yet. "How about Granger?"

"Granger, too," Draco said automatically.

This time, Crabbe snorted. Draco shot him a glare and Goyle punched his burly friend in the back, but the Slytherin prince did not miss the silly grin on Goyle's face.

"What are you two getting at?" spat Draco menacingly. "You two _honestly_ think that Granger won't want me if I _tried_?"

"Of course not, Draco," said Goyle hurriedly in his stupid voice.

"It's just...she's _Granger_, and after how you were with her..." Crabbe trailed off after another one of Draco's icy glares.

"They do have a point, Draco," Blaise said, as he was never to stoop for his friend as much as he respected him, "you weren't exactly _civil _to her."

"That can change," Draco said with a shrug.

"What are you getting at?" grinned Blaise. But it seemed as if he knew _exactly _where this was going.

"What are you talking about?" asked Draco.

Blaise leaned back again and grinned. "I suppose it won't hurt to have some fun now that you're free of Parkinson's noisy chit-chats."

Draco rolled his eyes. "No."

"Yes."

"I don't want to waste my energy on that mudblood, never."

"Sounds like you're scared," Blaise whispered. Crabbe and Goyle both snorted.

Draco's jaw was clenched. "_Scared_?"

"Yes. That Draco Malfoy could ever fail to get a girl." Blaise was clearly enjoying all of this.

"As I told you, I could get Granger if I wanted to-"

"-then prove it."

There was a bit of silence.

"Fine," Draco said at last. A smirk creeped up on his lips. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to play with her a bit."

"And to make it fair," said Blaise, grinning, "I will try Ginny Weasley."

"Oh, ho, ho," laughed Draco, amused. "You _do _fancy the blood traitor!"

"I told you, just because I think she's hot, it does not mean I fancy her," Blaise said, rolling his eyes.

"Well..." Draco grinned. "Likewise."

* * *

**A/N: Haha, surprise again! Didn't think I'd update this fast (and long),did ya? ;) Reviews, completely, completely welcome! More reviews would mean my writing more, so... ;] & please PM me possible ideas using W.H. (you should all know this is Ginger Stotts) & the OC character Sydney Henrie (Sid_Henrie on Twitter), that would be much, much appreciated! **

**And as you guys may have guessed, YES, this would be a Dramione AND a Ginny/Blaise. For those of you who may not know me too well, go read SexyWitches Inc., the ultimate Ginny/Blaise. ;D But REVIEW FIRST! :D - Love, Tina. **


	3. Blaise

If Draco Malfoy was known for his pale blond hair and delicate features, Blaise Zabini was known for his achingly handsome, dark look. It was a look Malfoy did not and could not have, and therefore some girls swooned more for Blaise than they did for Draco. Blaise knew this, and he thrived in it. Sometimes, although not always, the number of chocolates and love notes he received exceeded that of Draco. Not that either recognized this, of course.

Blaise never had trouble getting a girl he wanted, but he didn't want many girls. He enjoyed company now and then, but most of the time he stayed single just because it opened more doors for him.

He tapped his foot. The music was getting repetitious, and he was growing quite bored. The party was still at its heights, but with Draco already gone off carrying the unconscious Hermione Granger, he did not feel like doing anything.

Of course, he knew he had to do something. It would be humiliating to let Draco Malfoy win this little game, and knowing that the blond friend was already taking the first step, Blaise knew something had to be done on his behalf as well. His deep brown eyes wandered the room until he realized that Ginny Weasley, being a sixth year, would not have been invited to the party; it was a secret party only for the seventh years. Chuckling to himself, he exited room quietly, ignoring a Hufflepuff girl with a black ponytail who said, drunkenly, something along the lines of 'I love you.'

He decided it would be best to return to the dorms and slowly made his way to the Slytherin dungeons. However, as he stepped onto a new marble staircase, it moved and landed him at the entrance of a cave-like dead end.

"Oh, great," he cursed under his breath. He turned to descend the stairs to where he had come from. Then-

"Thank Merlin!"

He turned sharply to find, to his amused surprise, Ginny Weasley herself emerging from the corner. She looked as surprised as he was.

As he had admitted before, Blaise had considered, for quite some time, that Ginny Weasley was rather attractive. The expected red hair suited her well, and she had a very nice body thanks to her devotion to Quidditch. His eyes trailed over her slowly without thinking: the round breasts under the curved white blouse, nice legs under her school skirt…

Blaise blinked. It was unlike him to have lost himself for that long. His face regained his signature smirk (he insisted that Draco stole it from him…it was an eternal mystery).

"You are that glad to see me?" he said in a drone, referring to her cry of 'thank Merlin!'

She scoffed. "You wish, Zabini. I was stuck in this corner for _hours_," she said, "it landed me here and the stairs rolled away." She quickly stepped down on to the staircase, afraid it may move again. The two quickly descended it and returned to the familiar hallway.

"What were you doing up so late?" he asked casually.

The two were not very close; Ginny considered him an enemy since he hung out with Draco Malfoy. Therefore she was a bit taken back by his talking to her so much.

"It's none of your business," she said crossly.

"Out waiting for your brother and his friends to come back from the party?" he asked. He smiled a little as he saw her flinch; he had been right on the mark.

"Is it over?" she asked.

"No."

"Then why are you out?" She looked at him as if he were crazy; she would _never_ leave a seventh-year party early.

"Because there wasn't anything interesting there that I liked," he said. He smirked a little, letting his eyes wander over her figures again. "It's much more interesting out here."

Ginny furrowed her brows. "What are you trying to get at, Zabini?" she asked warily.

He laughed a little, and, to her shock, leaned over and gave her a short, swift kiss on her cheek. She was too surprised to react in time, and in the meantime he whispered in her ear: "you are cute, Ginny Weasley," and strolled off.

She stood there, stunned, for quite sometime afterwards.

***

When Hermione finally made her way to the Great Hall, almost everyone was done eating. Still feeling sick to the stomach, Hermione sat next to Ginny, who was putting marmalade on her toast.

"Good morning," Ginny said. "I didn't see you last night. Where were you?"

"I fell asleep somewhere else," Hermione said slowly, carefully picking at the words, "I didn't make it back to my room."

"Oh," Ginny said. Hermione found it odd that Ginny did not question her further, as she did not know what was going on inside the redhead's brain. Ginny was only half there; the only half was busy contemplating exactly _what_ had happened last night with Blaise Zabini.

Of course, she had kissed before, and so a peck on the cheek was nothing, but Blaise Zabini? That was just random.

Hermione found it hard not to look over at the Slytherin table. She saw Draco Malfoy, as relaxed as ever, having brunch with his usual circle of friends: Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle. Pansy Parkinson, though, wasn't near him; she was off in a different corner, looking miserable as she tried to shove omelet into her mug for some reason.

When her eyes moved back from Parkinson to Malfoy, she almost yelped; he was staring back at her. When their eyes met he smirked a bit, and, to her surprise, gave her a swift wink. She felt temperature rush back into her cheeks; it seemed as if _he_ remembered whatever was going on last night, and she felt so vulnerable. She quickly turned away from him, her heart thumping fast.

***

Knowing Malfoy, Hermione thought that if they _did_ sleep together, he would have spread the news instantly around the Hogwarts castle. However, for the rest of the day no one approached her or seemed to be talking about her. Of course, she was relieved, but it did make her even more afraid of what he could possibly be planning.

She was contemplating such thoughts while trying to concentrate on her Defense Against Dark Arts essay in the library. She had chosen to sit at one of the desks between shelves, as to avoid being spotted awkwardly by Harry or Malfoy. Hermione realized, however, that this was in vain when she saw the latter boy turning a corner into the passageway.

Hermione decided it was best to avoid him at all costs, so she pretended not to notice and leafed through a book at her desk. She knew her cheeks were flushed, but nothing could be done about that now.

To her surprised dismay, she felt him drag back the chair across from her and sit down. She expected him to say something, but he merely took out a parchment and a quill and started writing.

Several uncomfortable minutes (on Hermione's behalf, of course) passed, and she couldn't take it any longer. She bolted up and started packing.

"Leaving so soon?"

She glared at him. He looked ever so relaxed, but his eyes were still on his parchment. He seemed to be writing a letter of some sort.

"None of your business, Malfoy," she spat.

"Is that the way you should be speaking to the _guy of your dreams_?" he asked casually, finishing and signing his letter.

She flared up. "_Excuse _me? The _guy of my dreams_? You wish!"

He looked up from his letter with a feigned surprise. "You really don't remember, do you?"

"What the hell are you getting at, Malfoy?" she spat, her eyes flaming.

"I do clearly remember you confessing your undying lust for me last night, Granger," he said, looking quite amused as he folded up his letter.

"_Undying lust?_" cried Hermione. "Well, thanks for telling me that! Because you just proved that _nothing_ happened last night."

"I wouldn't call it _nothing_." Draco was not to back down. "It was clearly _something_. Especially when you _insisted_ that you pour firewhiskey on me and lick it…"

"I did _not_," exclaimed Hermione, her face bright red.

"Miss Granger!"

The librarian, Madame Pince, was at the end of the passageway, narrowing her eyes at the two. "This is a library, keep your voice down!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Hermione grudgingly, sitting back down. She picked up her things and shoved them into her heavy book bag.

"Don't think you're the only one who isn't happy about what happened," whispered Draco with a smirk. "If I hadn't been so amused by your pursuits, I wouldn't have laid a finger on you. You ought to feel grateful that you had the honor of being pleasured by me."

Hermione shot Draco an extremely hateful glare. He would have flinched if he had not been expecting it.

"You don't have any solid evidence to prove anything did happen," she said rather boldly. "I just _know_ this is one of your nasty pranks. And either way, if I tell the authorities you are _finished_. As soon as I figure out what _really_ happened, you are gone."

"Are you _threatening_ me?" he asked amusedly. "I don't think you could walk around with your head up if you found out and told everyone what _really_ happened. Perhaps I can repeat everything you said when you started stripping?"

"Shut the hell up, Malfoy." She glared at him, picked up her bag, and stormed away.

***

"I don't really understand how you can pull it off," mused Blaise, leaning back in his chair. The two friends were in their shared dorm room. "You are making her hate you even more."

"That's what I'm good at," grinned Draco. "Piss the girl off, then praise her."

"So what _did_ happen last night?" asked Blaise curiously. "I saw you taking her off…you didn't really do it, did you?"

He stared at Blaise incredulously. "Do I really look like the type who would drug a mudblood so I can lay her? That's rape. That's low-class."

"Isn't that what she thinks, though?" laughed Blaise.

"No…I'm trying to get her to think she spread her own legs while drunk. She keeps on denying it, but I think she'll come to believe it."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, she did wake up naked…" he grinned.

Blaise jumped. "You stripped her? Completely?"

Draco looked as if he thought nothing of it. "It was necessarily. She wasn't going to believe _anything_ if she had any clothing intact."

Curiosity was apparent on Blaise's face. "How is she?"

"She's not too bad," said Draco. "I was rather impressed, actually."

"A prude, she is," shrugged Blaise with a grin. "She would freak out if her skirt was but an inch shorter than the school standards, though no one else really cares."

"Well, she does have a nice body," Draco droned. "But I barely touched the mudblood."

"Some will power."

Draco chuckled. _You have no idea,_ he thought. Had she not been a mudblood, had she not been a friend of Potter's, he might have forgotten all about the low-class-ness of it all and had his way with her. He was a healthy boy of seventeen, after all.

**Please do leave a review. I feel the incentive to write more when I see lots of reviews, but please write a bit more than 'update soon'; really tell me things! Suggestions, comments, quotes you liked. Thanks! - Tina**


	4. Insomnia

Hermione furrowed her brows. Being quite the bookish girl, she had already scribbled some theories about that loathsome Draco Malfoy.

_One. There is no way whatsoever that I, Hermione J. Granger, would have slept with Draco Malfoy._

_Reason: He is blaming it all on alcohol, but granted that one's true self will emerge under influence, it does not make sense that my true self "lusts after" Malfoy._

She shuddered as she wrote the word _lust_. Then, after a while, she stared it for a minute. Draco Malfoy…she did have to admit he had a very nice body, and yes, she had wondered what it would be like to have him wrap his hands around her…

She shook her head, alert, and stared down at her notes again.

_One possibility is that my true self does in fact "lust after" Draco Malfoy. However, it does seem unlikely that I would have been so outrageous._

_Two. Assuming that nothing happened, this is a mean trick by Draco Malfoy._

She stared at that line for a while.

_Why?_

She groaned. This was harder than she thought. She started another scroll of parchment.

_Why would Draco Malfoy want to make me believe I slept with him when I in fact did not?_

_One, he thought it would be funny._

But why wouldn't he go about telling everyone?

"Because he doesn't want to tell everyone he would engage himself with a _mudblood_," she said to herself sarcastically. Then, another thought struck her: why would he, really? Even making her believe so was engaging himself to her in one way or another…it wasn't ignoring, for one thing.

This was making her head spin. To cool off, she picked up her Potions book and started reading.

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Draco leaned back in his soft armchair. He was rather bored, and decided to take a quick nap; a beauty sleep never hurt anyone. Yawning lazily, he closed his eyes…then opened them abruptly with a sudden intake of breath.

"What the hell," he hissed to himself, suddenly dizzy. An image of that goddamn Hermione Granger had flashed into his mind the moment he closed his eyes. She had been lying there quite naked… Her flawless white skin had looked so enticing…

He shook his head. "Goddamn Granger," he cursed under his breath as he tried once again to close his eyes.

Granger's pale breasts, her pink nipples looking so delicious, her curves.

"Merlin," he hissed again, opening his eyes in frustration. But as he closed his eyes again another image of her, this time completely imagined, flashed into his mind. She was looking up at him from the bed, a look of pure ecstasy on her face, embracing his rough movements against her body.

He cursed under his breath. "Don't tell me I'll lose my sleep for that Granger."

But he did.

And that was the start of his insomnia.

That night, as he lay in shared dorm room, the rather graphic thoughts of her never left his mind. If she wasn't playfully teasing his neck with her tongue, she was moaning his name while he pleasured her. It was starting to become insane, even. The withdrawal symptoms of resisting the temptation to have his way with her that night had finally begun, and he couldn't keep his eyes closed for a single minute without feeling an erection build up.

"That mudblood," he cursed.

"Hmmm? What's that?" said Blaise's half-asleep voice in the dark.

"Nothing. Go to sleep," Draco murmured bitterly.

He got no sleep that night.

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Draco was, therefore, rightfully (?) angry at Hermione in the morning. Lack of sleep made him crabby, and he had already decided that as a punishment, he would somehow make her miserable before he tried anything to supposedly win her over; as a Malfoy he put causing misery before anything else.

However, when he saw her turning the corner into the hallway near the Great Hall, the images that chased away his sleep came rushing back. The way her hips swayed as she walked, and that school blouse he _knew_ hid two gorgeous breasts underneath…

She scowled at him when she saw him; she had decided after excessive scribbling that nothing had happened, that whatever was his reason it was all a prank. And that stupid look on his face, looking frustrated and confused at the same time…was he mocking her?

Completely against his will he looked away when she got near. Narrowing her eyes, she stopped before him and lowered her voice as she whispered: "I know what you're doing, Malfoy."

Her voice so close to his ear sent shivers up his spine, again involuntarily. He scowled at the effect she had on him.

"Why you decided to get so _personal_ in this nasty prank of yours, that's beyond me. But if you think you're on to me, well, _you are not_," she warned.

Words like _personal_ and _on to me_ rang in Draco's ears, and he felt a bit bothered.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he hissed back, suppressing the urge to grab her.

"I _know_ nothing happened that night," she mimicked his hiss sarcastically. "I know this is a prank of some sort, and why you'd want anyone to think you slept with me, I haven't quite figured out."

He was finally beginning to relax a bit. "Then don't tell anyone about our little rendezvous. Like you said, I wouldn't want anyone to think I would _sink so low_."

She scoffed. "Likewise."

"But," he whispered as he pulled her closer to him. Her scent made his head dizzy, but he continued: "you do have to admit, it was plenty good time…I must admit I was impressed by your…animal instincts."

"Animal?" growled Hermione, trying to push him away, but he was stronger. He pulled her even closer, their noses almost touching.

"Yes…" he droned as casually as possible, his mind already racing with kinky images as he took in her scent. Then he leaned and kissed the side of her neck.

"Mmmm…" She moaned without meaning to: his lips brushing against her neck made her shiver involuntarily. He pulled away and smirked at her, proud of having had such an effect on her. A sort of a payback, really.

Hermione was red in the face; the moan was too loud to ignore. She shot him a glare and strolled off.

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"So Draco…"

He looked up from his book at the familiar, sultry voice. He smirked. "Hello, Stotts."

"I heard you broke it off with Pansy," Ginger Stotts continued, a sexy smile at her lips as she sat next to him, so dangerously close, nibbling at his ear. She was known for her great looks, amazing body, and her openly slutty tendencies.

"That I did," he replied, enjoying the feel of her tongue at his jaw.

"So does that mean you're available?" she asked slowly.

He laughed. "As if you ever cared."

"True that," Ginger said with a grin, turning and sitting, facing him, on his lap, her knees on each side of him. She began to rub herself against his trousers.

Deciding he did need a break from dealing with Hermione Granger's imagined submission to him, he grinned and began to slide his hands up and down Ginger's back. "Let's go inside," he suggested with a smirk.

"Yes!" she cried gleefully, hopping off him and helping him up.

They made their way to Draco's dorm room, and found Blaise doing his homework on the desk. He looked up, and, seeing Draco and Ginger, grinned knowingly. "Is this a jealousy factor or something?"

"No, just break," Draco replied. "But thanks for the idea."

"No problem," said Blaise, getting up. At his exit he gave Ginger a squeeze on her arse. "Have fun, Stotts."

"Thanks," she replied with a grin.

Even before Blaise quite made it out the door, Ginger pulled Draco to his bed. After taking off his shirt he climbed on top of her, lifted up her skirt, and pulled down her green thong. Hermione hadn't worn such kinky underwear, and imaging her in one made his head spin. Ginger sat up, her thongs around her ankles, and helped him out of his trousers.

He moved a bit more eagerly than he would have liked, perhaps because of the image of Hermione Granger in his head. His hands were on Ginger's hips but his mind was elsewhere, and he hated that fact as much as it was true.

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**A/N: Please do keep the reviews coming! When I see no new reviews I get sad and not wanting to write. lol Well now, in the next chapter, you will be introduced to a new, very lovable character. Can't wait for you guys to meet her ;) Now click that button and write me something!! :D – Tina**

**PS: I was just about to update this chapter when DocX wouldn't work…sigh. So I decided to take a look at some new HP fics (M, of course…haha), and was disappointed at all the crap I found. Ugh…I'll take recommendations. If you know me you know that I only read humor/romance, straight or femmeslash only. Thanks!!! :P**


	5. Ron's Crush

Spending time with Ginger Stotts, to Draco's dismay, did not help with the insomnia at all. He merely used her to fantasize about Hermione, and had to be careful not to groan her name instead of Ginger's by accident.

"How's it going with Granger?" asked Blaise casually over the breakfast table one morning.

Draco scowled as he received the toast some girl buttered for him. "Not very well," he grumbled. "She's ruining my life."

"How so?" Blaise mused.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to disclose what impact she was having on him, so he chose to keep his mouth closed on that one. "Forget it," he said. "How about you and the Weaslette?"

Blaise shrugged. "I kissed her cheek that first night, haven't talked to her since. Keep it mysterious and surreal, you see."

"Perhaps I should have gone your way," Draco said. "Granger hates my guts." Somehow it was difficult to say that without a grin.

"No, for you, you have too much fun making her angry," Blaise said, smiling. And they both knew he was right.

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Packing up all her books had taken a while, so Hermione emerged from the History of Magic class after everyone else had already left. She was walking to the Gryffindor Tower when she saw Ron linger in front of a door, trying to peer inside.

"Ron?"

He positively jumped. "Whoa!"

She narrowed her eyes at her friend. "What's going on?"

Ron's face was scarlet. "Oh, nothing, nothing at all."

"What were you looking at?" she asked demandingly, her hands on her hips.

"I told you, nothing," he said hastily, standing in front of the door to block her.

Arching her brows, Hermione approached the door. "If you have nothing to hide, then move aside."

Grumbling, Ron moved reluctantly from the door. Hermione peered inside.

To her surprise, it was just another class: the 6th year Ravenclaws were learning Charms. She stared back at Ron. "You were peeking at a _class_?" she asked skeptically.

"Uh, yeah. Never hurts to learn," he quickly replied.

Still unconvinced, she turned back to the door. She saw a couple of students she knew, including Luna Lovegood. "If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were peeking at Luna," she laughed as she pulled away from the door to face him again.

He laughed, relaxing a bit. "No, not Luna, she's no where as pretty as-" He abruptly stopped himself; he had said too much.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You like someone in there!" she cried.

"No, wait, Hermione-"

"It's alright, Ron, you can tell me!" she said kindly. "Is it Vivian Knowles?"

He shook his head.

"Hmmm…" she looked back into the classroom. "Elle Himmick?"

He shook his head again.

"Natalie Queen?

He shook his head again, but she didn't miss the sudden intake of breath.

Hermione turned back to the classroom to take a better look at the said Natalie Queen. She was a petite girl with adorable blond curls, pale skin, and bright blue eyes. She looked more like a porcelain doll as she beamed in delight at something her classmate had said.

"You like Natalie Queen," Hermione said, a soft grin at her lips. Ron looked almost as adorable as Natalie as he reddened.

"Please don't tell her," he said quickly.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because I barely know her, Hermione! I barely even talked to her." He looked miserable.

"Well, you can't just sit and do nothing!" cried Hermione. "I'm not the one to get involved in others' businesses, but just saying."

He sighed. "I know. I really should get to know her."

"Good luck," she smiled at him. "And if you need any help, just let me know."

"Thanks, Hermione. You're the best."

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"Did you _figure it all out_ yet?"

Hermione placed a finger in her book and looked up. Harry was leaning against the desk, looking a lot more serious than she would have preferred.

"Please, Harry, this is _my_ business," she said.

"I know that," he grumbled. "But you are _my_ friend."

She sighed. "Nothing happened that night."

A look of brotherly relief was undeniable on Harry's face. However, he did not let off his guard. "How do you know?" he asked with his right brow arched up.

"Logical reasoning," scoffed Hermione. "Just a nasty prank of his, don't worry about it."

"…fine," he finally said. He played with the tip of his wand. "Want me to pay him back for it?"

Hermione laughed. "No thanks, Harry. I think I can handle him alone."

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It was a bright Sunday morning, and Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry were enjoying a late brunch in the Great Hall when a disheveled, shocked Neville Longbottom walked into the scene.

His hair was messy, his tie had been yanked from him, and his shirt was slightly torn. The belt buckle to his trousers seemed to have been undone rather abruptly, and the bright red lipstick marks around his face, neck, and shirt were hard to ignore.

"Blimey, Neville!" cried Ron in a mix of shock and amusement, dropping his toast.

"Hullo, guys," said Neville nervously.

"What happened to you?" asked Ginny, laughing a bit.

Neville's face was red. "I was going to ask Harry or Ron for the password so I could clean myself up," he said instead of giving a reply.

"Who did this to you?" asked Harry. "It's not Malfoy, is it?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It's obviously a girl," said Ron with a grin, pointing at the lipstick marks. Neville flinched.

"You can tell us, Neville," Ginny said, putting down her glass of apple juice and cupping her chins.

Neville looked around nervously before taking a seat next to Ron. "It…was Lavender."

"Lavender?" cried the four friends in surprise. "Lavender _Brown_?" asked Harry.

"Well, yeah. Except she didn't really seem herself," Neville explained. "And when I managed to get away from her, I saw her walking out of a different classroom with other girls!"

"Weird," said Harry.

"Sounds like the first Lavender was only an impersonator," said Hermione thoughtfully.

Ginny frowned. "Polyjuice?"

"Definitely possible," Hermione said.

"Why would anyone want to pretend to be someone else to advance at Neville?" Ginny asked curiously.

"I don't see who wouldn't want to," chuckled Ron, earning a smack on the arm from Hermione.

Neville looked awfully uncomfortable. "Could I just get the passwor-"

"Study the lipstick," cried Hermione, who _loved_ detective work.

Ginny yanked Neville closer and sniffed at the lipstick mark on his shirt, making him blush madly. "It's the Elise Noir brand. The summer red color."

"How can you tell that?" asked Harry, furrowing his brows.

"I'm a girl, I know," said Ginny. "Elise Noir is expensive," she added.

"Hey, a rich girl!" Ron hooted, attempting to give Neville a high-five and in the process knocking over his glass of pumpkin juice. The girls rolled their eyes.

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The swift kiss on her neck had made a small moan escape her mouth, and Hermione could not forgive herself for it. She hated thinking anyone had an impact on her, and well…Malfoy definitely did. She scowled at the thought. These thoughts were swimming in her head while she was making her way back to the Gryffindor Tower one evening. She was just turning a corner when, with a quick intake of breath, she hid herself behind a suit of armor. She had spotted Ron leaning rather awkwardly against a wall talking with Luna Lovegood and two of her Ravenclaw friends, one of which Hermione recognized as Natalie Queen.

"Wouldn't want to interfere," she said quietly to herself, grinning a bit; she momentarily forgot about her own problems as she hid.

She heard Ron's voice:

"So, yeah, Loony- I mean, Luna, is a good friend of mine. Right, Luna?" he sounded almost desperate.

"Oh, yes," said Luna, sounding happy beyond years in her dreamy voice. "Ronald has been very hospitable."

"And these are your friends, Luna?" asked Ron.

"Oh yes," came Luna's voice. "This is Vicky Wong and Natasha King."

"It's Vivian Nguyen and Natalie Queen," came another girl's rather businesslike voice. Hermione bit back a laughter.

"Nice to meet you girls," said Ron, and Hermione could tell he was trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Hello," said the two girls.

"You're a friend of Harry Potter, aren't you?" The businesslike voice was inevitably that of the same girl who had corrected Luna.

"Why, yes, he's my best mate."

"Harry Potter is also my friend," Luna sounded very pleased with herself.

"Well," came the other girl's melodic voice that was clearly that of Natalie; Hermione had spoken with her a couple of times last year in the library, by mere acquaintance, and therefore recognized the voice right away. "I gotta get back to the dorms. Nice to meet you, Ron. Bye, Vivian, bye, Luna!"

The other girls and Ron said bye, and Natalie's footsteps died away in the other direction. The girl named Vivian kept on asking questions about Harry, and Hermione emerged into the hall. Ron smiled nervously at her.

"Hi, Hermione," he said.

"Hello. And hi, Luna," Hermione said casually.

"_You_ are Hermione Granger," said Vivian. She had distinctively dark brown hair in a bun that reminded Hermione vaguely of Professor McGonagall. To add to the businesslike image of her she also fashioned dark-rimmed glasses that suited her rather well.

"Yes, I am," said Hermione in an amused voice.

"Friend of Harry Potter as well?"

"And mine," added Luna dreamily.

Vivian's slightly-wary attitude suddenly flashed into that of great admiration, which startled Hermione a bit. "You are my _role model_," she sighed.

"Wh-what?"

"I've heard all the things you've done," said Vivian eagerly, "how you out-perform everyone in classes but still manage to go on adventures! And it also must be immensely exciting observing Harry Potter up-close!"

"Harry's not a _thing_ to be _observed_," said Hermione rather irritably.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Vivian quickly, and she did in fact appear apologetic. "The last thing I want to do is to offend you. You are just so amazing; I can't believe I finally got to see you-"

"You could have just asked me," said Ron incidentally.

Vivian ignored this and continued beaming at Hermione, who smiled weakly at the sixth-year Ravenclaw.

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"I thought it was safe to emerge," said Hermione as she and Ron made their way to the Gryffindor Tower. "I heard Natalie walking away."

Ron gave her a grateful smile.

"But then again," Hermione nodded, "that girl Vivian…flattering, yes, but kind of…"

"Creepy?" offered Ron.

She laughed.

**A/N: So whom do you think is the lovable character? I meant for it to be Natalie, but Vivian also seems pretty lovable to me! Haha! Gotta love the O.C.s. =) REVIEW!**


	6. Kiss and Slap

It was _not_ going well for Draco Malfoy.

The goddamn insomnia, caused by Hermione Granger herself, was driving him up the wall. People began asking him, in concerned voices, whether he was alright; although his features remained unchanged, everyone could tell he was tired. He even went as far as going to Madame Pomfrey and asking for some sleeping potions.

With the prescribed sleeping potion bottle in his robes, he made his way carefully back to the Slytherin dungeons, trying to deny, although in vain, that he was suffering because of that Mudblood Granger. He still had a couple of hours until the curfew.

He turned the corner and saw brown bushy hair disappearing into the next corner. Scowling, he hurried his steps and turned as well. Hermione Granger was walking alone, probably coming from the library.

"Granger!" he called.

She turned abruptly around, daggers in her eyes at the sound of the voice she knew so well. The effect his kiss had had on her before had not completely erased out of her mind, and she was as displeased with him as he was with her.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she spat.

"Where are your manners?" he droned, admiring his own ability to hide the creeping desire to pin her against the wall behind her. "Being so rude as such, you naughty Mudblood, I may have to punish you."

"Punish me?" Hermione sneered, not even flinching at the name _Mudblood_. "What makes you think you can?"

He smirked. "I apparently have proven that I can make you do all sorts of things," he said slowly, "without magic." He walked a bit closer to her. "And apparently, I recently found out, you don't even have to be drunk…you really enjoyed that, didn't you, on the neck…?"

As he expected, she went bright red in the face. She bit her lower lip in spite, glaring at him. "What are you even doing here, talking to me?" she asked harshly, "leave me alone!"

He didn't. Instead, unable to control himself after seeing her fire up like that, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back against the wall, right below the portrait of five young wizards racing on brooms. The wizards slowed down and tried to peer down to see what was going on.

She gasped as he pinned her, and, to her utmost shock, he kissed her square on the lips.

Hermione was transfixed. She couldn't move but her heart was beating fast. Why it felt so right, she didn't know, for she knew it was in fact not right in any way whatsoever. As for Draco, it was a small break from all the frustration he had felt; as he kissed her fiercely he had to suppress the urge to tear off her clothes.

He didn't want to pull away. His lips, his tongue devoured her with passion he didn't know he had, and it was almost intoxicating as her body as he remembered it. It was Hermione who, after what seemed like at least a full minute, came to her senses, pushed him away, and slapped him.

t.

Hermione tried to keep her mind off of Draco, and was glad when Ginny suggested they try to figure out the mystery behind the Lavender Brown impersonator who had 'attacked' Neville.

"I can't imagine who she could possibly be," said Neville, looking quite embarrassed as Hermione and Ginny questioned him.

"Maybe it's not a she at all," said Ginny thoughtfully, yet with a mischievous grin. "Perhaps a boy too afraid to come out of the closet?"

Neville looked horrified.

"Aw, don't be so cruel, Ginny!" cried Hermione, throwing her head back and laughing.

"It could be!" Ginny looked a bit serious, which made Neville's face pale.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The lipstick? Elise Noir?"

"Oh, yeah!"

Neville sighed in relief.

"Though it could be just a really good impersonator-"

"-Ginny, stop it. Poor Neville," said Hermione quickly, brushing the idea off and comforting the horrorstricken boy.

Ginny shrugged. "Just an idea."

"Is there anyone," Hermione said, getting back to business, "who seems to like you very much?"

Neville considered this. He looked miserable as he shook his head. "Girls aren't very nice to me," he said slowly. "Except you guys," he added quickly at Ginny's disproving look.

"Well, it's to their loss, Neville," said Hermione kindly, "you are a very sweet guy."

He smiled weakly.

"It's just that someone is too shy to tell you how much she likes you."

"Or he," Ginny said quickly, but looked away at Hermione's warning glare.

"You don't understand, Hermione," said Neville, "most girls just laugh at me!"

"Like who?"

"Well, practically everybody!"

"Of which House?"

He pondered this. "Well, all," he said finally with a tone of misery, "but more in Ravenclaw and Slytherin than Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

Hermione clasped her hands. "That's it! She's someone from a different House who doesn't want to admit she likes Neville!"

"Or he," said Ginny again. Neville flinched.

"It would probably be Slytherin," said Hermione, ignoring Ginny's remark. "Yeah, that makes sense. Any girl in Slytherin you've been acquainted with, Neville?"

He looked almost embarrassed to admit it. "Quite many, actually."

"Oooh," Ginny said.

He went red in the face. "Not like that! They, they make fun of me. They're the worst, actually. Pansy Parkinson jinxed my nose once-"

Hermione frowned, remembering how his plump nose had turned, rather cleverly, she had to admit, into a giant plum.

"- and Ginger Stotts is always telling me I look like a mutated potato!"

Ginny fell out of her chair laughing. "…a _mutated potato_," she gasped for air, clutching her stomach on the carpet.

Neville looked distraught.

t.

For the first time in a while Draco got some sleep. The sleeping potion definitely helped, although he did take more than the prescribed amount. He was knocked off dead instantly and woke about eleven hours later, having missed two classes but feeling completely refreshed and anew.

He was therefore in a very good mood all throughout the day. He made it a point to not look at Hermione if he could get away with it, and was generally successful. He tortured some second years after lunch and was making his way to his room to grab some books when he noticed Blaise sitting in the Slytherin common room. He was aiming his wand lazily at a small cauldron.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked.

"Working," Blaise replied.

"On?"

Blaise sighed. "I'm making polyjuice potion."

"Why?"

"For fun," Blaise replied sarcastically, reaching for a jar. "Because spending weeks on this difficult potion is one of my hobbies."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Seriously, why are you making it?"

"At request," Blaise said with a yawn. "I gave Ginger some and she wants more. She's done me some favors, couldn't really say no."

"Why the hell does Ginger want polyjuice potion for?"

Blaise shrugged, stirring his cauldron.

"She could have asked me, I am better at potions, everyone knows that."

"Would you have done it?"

Draco thought about it.

"Of course not."

Blaise stirred some more. "There you go. Besides, I owe her."

"What did she exactly do for you? I don't recall she wanting anything in return for-"

"Oh, Merlin, no, it's not that," laughed Blaise. "Remember the jealousy factor I mentioned?"

"You gave _me_ that idea!" Draco protested.

The friend shrugged. "I didn't really do the whole jealousy part, but Ginger did help. All's fair in love and war, mate."

"Love?"

Blaise looked surprised at himself. "No, definitely not, I don't know why I said that. Anyway, do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Please," said Draco, plopping down on a sofa across Blaise.

t.

"Are you ready?"

"As always, babe," replied Ginger, grinning. "It's cute, this little game you two play!"

"Just mind you don't tell them, alright? Neither Granger nor Weasley. And their friends."

"My lips are sealed."

"Good. Now, hide behind that corner."

She did as she was told. He leaned against the wall. He knew Ginny would be entering the hallway any minute now. She would have split off with her seventh year friends and, if he were lucky, alone…

There she was! And alone. He smiled to himself. He waved at her, and she looked flustered as she walked in his direction.

"Good afternoon," he said gently.

"Good afternoon," she said in reply, eyeing him a bit skeptically but her cheeks slightly pink as she recalled their last encounter.

"You look great," he said. And he meant it; she looked as gorgeous as ever.

"Um…thanks, I guess."

He cleared his throat. "You must be making quite many fellows here miserable."

She raised her brows. "How so?"

"Well, don't you? Don't tell this to anyone, but if I didn't have this stupid thing about being Slytherin and pureblood and all of that…" he cleared his throat again. He had explained to Ginger that he would so he seems flustered and sincere, but this one was rather involuntary. "You're cute, Ginny Weasley."

He had somehow forgotten that that line was the cue (of course, when telling the story Blaise did not mention any of this to Draco). Ginger stepped out of the corner and quickly approached Blaise, completely ignoring Ginny.

"Oh, _Blaise_," she whispered, throwing her arms around his neck and positively grinding against him, "where have you been? I missed you." She appeared as if she would plant a big wet kiss on him, but he moved his head away, gently pushing her away.

"Hello, Ginger."

"Let's go," Ginger whined. She was a rather good actress. "Anything you want. _Kinkier the better_."

Blaise stole a look at Ginny, who was looking both horrified and flustered. Perfect.

"Please, Ginger, stop," he said briskly.

Ginger feigned shock, staring between Blaise and Ginny. Finally, she gave an angry scoff and stormed away.

Blaise took Ginny's hands, and stared into her eyes earnestly. "Sorry about that, really."

She seemed surprised as she stared down at her hands in Blaise's. "Um, no problem," she said. He held the hands up and kissed her on the back of her right hand.

"Well, later, I suppose," Blaise said.

"Yeah."

t.

"And that's the end of it," Blaise finished, stirring his cauldron.

Draco groaned. "I thought the shy thing was off-limits."

"There is nothing off-limits. And it wasn't a _shy _thing, more of a _I am confused about how I feel about you_ thing."

"How are those any different?"

Blaise rolled his eyes. "How are you with Granger?"

Draco's stomach churned. "Better. I kissed her on the neck and she moaned…perhaps I told you about that already…and then I kissed her on the mouth recently and she slapped me."

"Kinky."

t.

A full week went on without a confrontation with Malfoy. Whenever their eyes met Hermione angrily stormed off, and Draco did not make an attempt to stop her. He didn't know if he could control himself.

Enough was on Hermione's mind, however. She had a mountain of homework from all the classes, on top of attempting to help Ron with Natalie. The two had spent very few moments with each other so far, and always in the presence of other people, such as Luna and Vivian.

"This essay is too difficult," sighed Natalie one day in the library, seated between Vivian and Luna. Ron and Hermione were sitting with them, working on their own homework and sometimes offering to help; Ron had begged Hermione to be there so that he wouldn't look too suspicious ("Suspicious? What suspicious?" asked Hermione, shaking her head).

"Maybe I shouldn't have been placed in Ravenclaw," said Natalie sadly, her pretty face looking distraught, "it's too hard…"

"Is that for Herbology?" asked Hermione. "About the Devil's Snare? Well, Ron here knows all about it. Why don't you help Natalie, Ron?"

Ron grinned at her appreciatively, but:

"Surely _you_ know all about it!" cried Vivian. "Hermione, you are like the most amazing witch here at this school-"

"Devil's Snare," Luna butted in dreamily, "is actually a sex toy for house elves!"

Luna and Vivian weren't good people to have around when trying to get to know someone else.

**A/N: I deserve to die. I have no right to ask you guys for reviews. It's been HALF A YEAR since I last updated, and really, I am terribly, terribly sorry. I was thinking of giving up this all together but couldn't bear to leave all you wonderful people hanging. I can make no promises about updating fast but I do make a promise to finish whatever story I start from now on. I made that oath when I deleted about two stories I was writing out of nowhere because I lost inspiration. Meh. Happy New Years, guys! - Tina**


	7. Slytherin Male Honour

"...you know, something to retrieve a lost memory?"

Snape stared at her. "Miss Granger, you are going to have to be much more specific. Is it something that you've simply forgotten, such as where you've placed your keys-"

"No, no!" Hermione said, waving her hands. "It's not that at all."

"Were you knocked out unconscious?" asked Snape, sounding rather bored.

"Perhaps?"

"Perhaps?" repeated Snape, looking much more irritated than before. "I, Miss Granger, happen to be very busy, and I don't have time for this nonsense. You can either tell me what happened so I may tell you if there is a potion for it, or-"

"I was drunk!" cried Hermione.

There was a bit of silence.

He clenched his jaw. "Miss Granger, are you trying to tell me that you've come to your potions master to inquire about a...hangover?"

Ouch.

"It's not exactly as it sounds, professor," she said carefully, "but I guess...I suppose...yes? I don't remember anything, and I really, really, have to. And I suspect it may have been more than the alcohol. Perhaps a charm."

"Well, Granger, it's going to be difficult unless you know for sure. You would probably have to get something that would work for memory loss due to alcohol consumption, and then if that doesn't work, go for some of the more complicated potions."

She sighed. "I suppose that would be the way," she said. "What's the potion for the first one and where can I get it?"

Snape looked as if he would throw something. "I'm your Potions professor, Granger, not your local...what do those Muggles call them...farmarcists? Pharmacists? You're a student, you do your own research and concoct your own potions."

And with that Severus Snape motioned for her to get out of his office, which she did hastily.

t.

Draco Malfoy strolled down the halls of Hogwarts, his hands in his pockets and in deep thought. Making Granger think she had slept with him had definitely got her attention, but the whole thing was backfiring on him. She hated his guts - although it's not as if she was fond of him before - and she was turning him into an insomniac.

"You're doing it all wrong," Blaise had said to him the night before. "You're supposed to be charming and gentle and caring. You can't hope to hold on to your bad boy image and win over a girl like Granger at the same time."

"Why the hell not?" Draco asked.

"Because girls like Granger aren't into that kind of guys at all?"

"So what do you want me to do, ask her out on a date?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Would that be so hard to do?" Blaise asked back.

Well of course.

Asking Hermione Granger out would be a nightmare. There was no way she would say yes.

"Then you are doing it wrong," Blaise said with a grin. "You've got a long way to go and win her over, mate."

Draco scowled. "Are you doing any better? Would the Weaslette accept if you asked her out?"

"Perhaps," said Blaise. "I bet you I've got loads better chance than you've got."

"Oh really?"

t.

Neville gulped.

"Lavender?" he asked.

"Yes," said Lavender Brown.

He gulped again. "You're not," he said bravely. "I saw Lavender two minutes ago, and she wasn't dressed like that!"

"Does it matter who I am?" asked the girl, her lips curling into a seductive smile as she took a step closer to him.

"Of, of course it does," he stammered, frozen to the spot.

She took another step and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Are you...sure?" She leaned in and nibbled him on his left ear. He trembled. "You like this," she whispered. "Can you honestly say you don't?"

"N...not really," he said truthfully. He was never good at lying.

She laughed softly. "If you like this...and you want to know who I am...and you can keep it a secret," she said slowly right beneath his ear, "come to the Lady Olympia painting on the fourth floor at midnight tonight."

"Th...that's after curfew," he gulped nervously. "We're not supposed to be out-"

"-come on, Neville," she whispered, "you gotta play naughty sometimes."

t.

Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"You don't have to be angry with me," said Ron miserably.

"Yes, I do!" said Hermione curtly. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get Luna and Vivian away from you and Natalie? I had to listen to a combination of complete nonsense and endless _gushing_ for two whole hours! And what did you get done? Nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Hermione-"

"Don't you _Hermione_ me right now!" she yelled.

Hermione had taken to the burden of keeping Vivian and Luna company so that Ron could have some time alone with Natalie, and apparently for two hours he had only done homework, frozen as a stick.

"You _never_ do homework!" spat Hermione. "You choose that moment to do your homework?"

"I didn't know what to say!" cried Ron.

Hermione massaged her temples. Her ears were sore from dealing with Luna's nonsensical ramblings and Vivian's endless questions about and praise for all the Golden Trio had done over the years. "I thought she was going to write our biography or something!"

"I'm really, really, sorry," said Ron apologetically. "Next time-"

"There will not be a next time, Ron!" cried Hermione. "You can't possibly expect me to endure these girls all by myself!"

Ron thought.

"Perhaps Harry can help you?"

t.

"Draco, come on. It's too soon," said Blaise, rolling his eyes at his friend's immaturity.

"You said you've got loads better chance that I've got," said Draco with a sneer, "let's see you take a shot."

"Why now, when I'll have much better chances later on? You're just trying to get me to fail so you'd feel better about your own lack of progress with Granger."

"Perhaps I am," said Draco. "Or perhaps you are scared!"

"Please, Draco. We are not five years old. I have no reason to do this. Unles-"

"Unless what?" asked Draco.

"Unless you will do the same."

"You want me to ask Ginny Weasley out?"

"You know exactly what I meant, mate."

"Because you know, Ginny Weasley, I've got a fresh blank page to work from-"

"-Draco."

"Fine."

t.

Hermione dragged out a large leather-bound book from the shelf. She read the title carefully: "Intoxication and Memory Loss: Potions for Cure". She nodded to herself, satisfied. She placed it carefully on top of her already large stack of books, climbed down the step ladder, and took a deep breath before attempting, with much difficulty, to lift them.

"Need help?"

She turned sharply. Draco Malfoy stood there, in all of his glory, leaning lightly against one of the shelves.

"No," she said coldly. A book fell from the top of the stack, and in one swift movement, Draco caught it.

"'Intoxication and Memory Loss,' huh." he read.

"Give it back, please," she said sharply. Instead of obliging, however, Draco grabbed five more books from her stack. "Hey!" she cried.

"I'm just carrying them for you, don't sweat yourself," he said casually.

"And why?" Her voice was as icy as ever.

"Haven't you ever heard of the Slytherin Male Honour?" he asked in feigned surprise.

"Frankly, no. And I also doubt it exists at all."

"Well, it does," he assured her.

"And what does," said Hermione slowly, her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him, "this Slytherin Male Honour entail?"

He feigned surprise again. "Surely you've seen it within other Slytherin fellows and myself."

"I am afraid not," she said, "if the word 'honour' is used as it is used normally and ubiquitously."

"I assure that it is," he said, nudging his head toward the front of the library. She followed with her eyes still suspicious, her stack of books much lighter.

"Thank you, I suppose," she said curtly as he placed her books on the counter.

"You're welcome, I suppose," replied Draco.

Why was he acting so gentlemanly?

"I still don't believe you, in case you were wondering," she said without being asked, crossing her arms.

"Believe me about what?" he asked.

"A-about what supposedly happened that night," she said very fast. "I don't believe it."

"Fine."

"W-what?"

He shrugged. "I suppose there may have been some...exaggeration. I apologize."

What in Merlin's name...? Hermione began to seriously wonder if something had hit Malfoy across the back of his blond head. "Well, alright," she said at last.

He smiled secretly to himself. Things were going smoothly. He knew, however, it was too early to ask her to do anything than to stop hating him. She'd get suspicious; he had already seen her non-believing eyes at the first sign of some decency. Was he that bad?

Eh, perhaps.

t.

Neville walked the halls carefully and cautiously, his heart beating fast. It was two minutes to midnight, and he was looking for the portrait of Lady Olympia. He had seen the portrait before; it was of a beautiful, middle-aged woman with milk pale skin and blood red lips. She was breathtakingly gorgeous and also somehow very, very dangerous-looking.

At last, he got to a corner.. He knew that the portrait would be at the end of the hall, and that his mystery girl (if she was a girl, he hoped) would really have nowhere to hide from his view if she had shown up and were waiting for him. He took a deep breath. He turned the corner.

He drew in his breath sharply.

"Hello, Neville," came the sultry voice of Ginger Stotts.

**A/N: I'm so sorry, I'm not even going to say anything. Actually, I will. Sorry. :( You guys, real life gets in the way. But for all the good reasons, I assure you. :) Enjoy, and hopefully I'll have more before the summer's over! :D Love, Tina.**


	8. Why Me

"Ginger? Ginger Stotts?" gaped Neville.

"Yes…" replied Ginger, her long hair shining in the moonlight that was now streaming from the window. "That's me."

"Wha…why me?"

She gave him a seductive smile. "I've always had the hots for you, Neville," she said, approaching him slowly while playing with the hem of her skirt.

"But you always call me a mutated potato-"

"Shhh," she put a finger to her lips. "You're my sexy mutant potato."

"I don't see how that makes things better-"

"Shhh," she put a finger to his lips this time. She began to unbutton her blouse. "You've gotta admit…I've got a better body than that Lavender Brown…and I know for a fact I'm tighter, too…"

Neville gulped.

"Let's keep this a little secret, okay?" she whispered. She took off her blouse and stood before him in her bra and school skirt. She gently pushed him back until he awkwardly sat back onto the stone bench.

"Uh…"

"Shhh. Relax."

"Okay."

Soon she was on his lap facing him, her legs around his waist. His face was scarlet as Ginger began to kiss his neck.

"There's no going back here," she whispered between kisses. "We're going _all the way_."

"H-here?"

Ginger lifted herself up slightly and then pushed herself down, rubbing herself against him. "We've got to take care of that thinking poking at my panties," she whispered. "And if you took those pants off, you could feel me getting wet, too…are you going to make me cum, Neville?"

Neville gulped again, and Ginger let out a moan and pressed herself harder against him.

"Your awkwardness turns me on," growled Ginger.

t.

Hermione was taken aback by Draco Malfoy's sudden kindness, but she was not about to stop disliking him. It does take more than a bit of common decency to make up for years of taunts and also for that humiliating morning.

As he was being nicer, though, she could not help but notice all the other nice things about him. She had noticed his good looks, of course, but he was also charming and witty when he wanted to be. What was up with this guy?

"The thing about me," he explained, "is that I am manipulative. I get what I want and I make the other person feel like that's what he or she wants, too."

She did not know quite how, but Draco Malfoy was walking her to Transfiguration. And she did not mind at all. He was right, she thought.

"But being manipulative is nothing to be proud of, some people think it's a horrible trait in a person," she replied.

"It's useful," he said.

"For what?"

He shrugged. "Girls."

She made a face. "You disgust me."

He shrugged again. "I know women. I give them what they want."

"But you just said you make them think what you want is what they want."

"Does that make a difference?"

"You disgust me, Malfoy." she said again. "Why am I even talking to you?"

He grinned. He leaned closer to her. "Because you are utterly, unbelievably turned on by me right now."

Her face went scarlet. "What? No! How dare you suggest such thing?"

"That may be what you think now," he said, "but like I explained, I am manipulative."

"Most people who _are_ manipulative don't really go around parading the fact that they are manipulative," she snapped.

"I am just that good," he replied. He gave her a smile. "I am going to let you go now, Granger. It's time for class. I will see you later."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I wouldn't be so sure."

He did not respond but gave her a swift wink – and to her shock, an even swifter kiss on the cheek – before strolling away, leaving her quite dumbfounded.

t.

"I asked her out."

Draco stopped in his tracks and turned. Blaise Zabini stood with his hands in his pockets, with a victorious grin on his face.

"I am assuming from that stupid grin on your face that she said yes," groaned Draco.

"Yep. I think she's still a bit confused, though," replied Blaise. "How're you and Granger?"

"Not too bad at all," replied Draco. "I'm turning on my charm."

"Oh, so it was off before?" laughed Blaise.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

"Is that right," Blaise snickered.

"Damn right it is," snapped Draco. "I will have her all over me soon. How did you manage to ask the Weaslette out, by the way?"

"It was not too difficult," shrugged Blaise.

t.

Ginny was enjoying a nice day out by the lake with a book when Blaise Zabini approached. He strolled confidently across the grass and sat down next to her.

"Um," said Ginny.

"Good day to you, too," said Blaise. "Tell you what: I've got an extra ticket to this stupid thing, and I was thinking maybe you could go with me."

She raised a brow. "What stupid thing?"

"The Cornwall Romance is performing-"

"-in Diagon Alley! How the hell did you get tickets?" jumped Ginny.

Blaise laughed. "I'm assuming you like the band."

"Who doesn't, nowadays?" said Ginny, but she seemed a bit embarrassed at her initial reaction to the news.

"So, you want to go?"

Ginny seemed hesitant. "Just you and me?"

Blaise shrugged. "I've got two tickets."

"Um, well…okay. But why me?"

He laughed and got up. "I think I told you I find you cute, Ginny. So it's a date?"

It wasn't really a question; he left before she could answer.

t.

"You've got tickets to the Cornwall Romance?" groaned Draco. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"My mother's new husband has connections. I could get you a pair of tickets for a good price if you wish."

Draco pondered this. "I might take you up on that."

The Cornwall Romance was the "it" band of the year, made up of scantily clad women playing the instruments and a male lead singer. The women definitely did more than play the instruments while on stage, and the band was wildly popular among people in their late teens and early twenties.

"I don't know if Granger is into that type of thing, though. She may get all self-righteous about the women and all. Do get two tickets for me, though."

Blaise grinned. "Girls totally dig the Cornwall Romance. They all love the male lead, and I think they're all secretly turned on by all of it, if you know what I mean. I bet Ginny Weasley would be so hot after the show, I might end up hooking up with her."

"Define hooking up," said Draco. "You know there is no clear definition."

"I am thinking some good snogging and perhaps feeling her up a bit," grinned Blaise.

"You seem to be enjoying this quite a bit," Draco said, raising a brow at his friend.

t.

Hermione was on her way back to the Gryffindor Tower when she thought she saw some familiar golden curls disappear swiftly into a corner.

"Hello?" she called. "Natalie? Is that you?"

When Hermione turned the corner she saw, indeed, Natalie Queen sitting, looking quite embarrassed and her eyes quite pink from crying.

"Are you all right?"

Natalie tried to nod, but she seemed choked up – she began to tear up again.

"What's wrong?" Hermione took a seat next to the gold-haired Ravenclaw. Natalie sniffed.

"I…" she began, but she seemed choked up again.

"You don't want to talk about it if you don't want to," said Hermione softly.

Natalie shook her head. "No, I think…if I should talk to anyone…it should be you."

Hermione was quite surprised. Did Natalie want to talk about Ron, after all? Could it be that she liked him, too?

"Go on," said Hermione.

Natalie cleared her throat and turned to Hermione. "I…am in love with someone."

"Oh?"

"And…that person…is in love with someone else….you."

"What? Natalie," said Hermione. "I mean, I do get this quite a bit…a lot of people think we are together, but really, we are not."

"People already think you are together?" cried Natalie. She seemed inconsolable.

"Well, I mean, Ron is one of my best friends, and-"

Natalie stared at Hermione. "Ron Weasley? It's not him I'm talking about."

Hermione furrowed her brows. "Then who? Who's in love with me?"

Natalie stared down at her knees. "Vivian. Vivian Nguyen."

t.

**Way-Too-Long A/N: **

**First, hi. It's been a while. (:**

**Second, I am sorry it has been so long.**

**I have been busy, yes, but I feel a part of me was scared that I was writing a lot of smut – what if someone I know in real life found out, etc. I feel that is why I did not write in a while.**

**Then I got a word from a fellow fanfic writer (juicyfruits) that she has started writing again. She was on like a two-year hiatus, so even worse than me. She said seeing all the reviews and messages motivated her to write again – so she did, and her story is pretty awesome despite the T rating, if you know what I mean. **

**Anyway so I went to check my fanfic e-mail for the first time in a while - and I saw nearly ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS. I KID YOU NOT. Of course not all from this story, but from my older ones. It took me a while to read all of them, and I am sorry I do not have time to respond to all. All were nice. Maybe there were two pointing out a few mistakes I made, but overall, they really made my day.**

**A Google search also made me realize that people DO recommend my stories, and also outside of this site. I was really flattered by this one particular Yahoo Answer: .com/question/index?qid=20100822203515AAFVu1r **

**After recommending three of my stories this person goes to say his/her absolute favorites include "any fanfictions by tina redwood". I am flattered as hell. **

**All of your love through reviews and PMs, and the Yahoo Answer I saw, all have reminded me why I wrote these stories. We have fun, and I get so much love and attention from it. I am really flattered and humbled by all of you.**

**I really cannot promise you when I will update again, but I WILL. Thank you all for your amazing love! :)**

**With love, **

**Tina**


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